Don't want to sound cheap, but...

[KAWS]

Seems to me that most of the interesting Alaskan tours are super expensive. There are a few that I'll still be happy to spring for, but I'm just wondering (and please don't anyone bite my head off here) if I've just got champagne taste here, or is this my imagination?

 

Are the Alaskan tours more than other (say Caribbean) tours? I guess it's the unique experience that you can/will get but seems to me that the excursions run in the hundreds of dollars per person.

[Yukon]

I don't find comparable excursions here to be any more expensive than I did in the Caribbean last year. You can spend big bucks here (as you can in the Caribbean) but there's no need to. You can spend all day on Mt. Roberts at Juneau for $25, take the Mendenhall Glacier shuttle for $14, go on superb hikes at Skagway for free - or you can blow the wad and go heli-dogsledding. Your choice.

[DougH]

If you want to see some expensive excursions check out some of them in South America or Europe. They will give you sticker shock!

[muffy6445]

Remember, the season in Alaska is short May-Sept. They have to make all their money on tours in a few months. Everything in Alaska is expensive IMO.

[Budget Queen]

Overall the Caribbean is a cheap touring area compared to Alaska. Alaska just has some top cost tours- flightseeing, dog sledding etc. You can also have a great time for free taking advantage of walking tours and hiking. Depends what your interests and preferences are. Planning and advance reservations in place before you leave are the key.

 

Head to your library and take out Alaska travel books, plenty of lower cost ideas to consider.

 

For me, I am always on flights, and enjoy the bottom cheap cabin. For others, it's necessary they get the suite. :)

[PennyAgain]

In Alaska there are wage and hour laws that don't exist in many parts of the world. In addition to that you have the high cost of living.

 

Relatives working in the tourist industry this season are reporting very low tips compared to an average year with a lot of good weather. Some people who are touring Alaska are experiencing 'buyer's regret' and are trying to cut down on what they are spending by cheaping out on tips.

 

Many of the seasonal hotel and restaurant workers in Alaska are college students who work very hard for the summer to be able to attend classes the rest of the year. The tips have been so bad that some may not be able to do so.

[inkmahm]

Are tourists tipping less or are there just fewer tourists because the economy has made Alaska too expensive for families as a vacation destination right now?

[lrskier]

If you could walk up a set of stairs to get to the top of a glacier don't you think that there would be one long line to dog sled? The helicopter adds considerable expense as well as keeping a site working atop a glacier for tourist to experience a sled ride.

 

We did Alaska in 07 and thought it was GREAT, as the Hawaiian Cruise some years back.. You will experience something you can't experience most anyplace else in USA. I would recommend you pick one $$$ excursion on this trip and save the other(s) for your next venture to Alaska. We loved the flightseeing over Misty Fiords with Dave of Family Air I believe. It wasn't cheap but something we won't do at home. AS suggested, I could spend a day at Juneau's M Glacier and you can ride the city bus for even cheaper.. At Seward we elected to visit the Exit Glacier and skip Major Marine tour and wish we had more time there as well. Reach back and grab some bucks and enjoy it. Have a great time.. Don't miss the flounder pizza at Icy Strait Point either. LRSkier

[bottom-dragger]

Are tourists tipping less or are there just fewer tourists because the economy has made Alaska too expensive for families as a vacation destination right now?

 

 

in tiny town, independant travelers and their going on excursions is way down. a kayak operator in town said he's down by almost 50%

 

cruise ship traffic is up. but i don't know about their use of excursions.

[inkmahm]

in tiny town, independant travelers and their going on excursions is way down. a kayak operator in town said he's down by almost 50%

 

cruise ship traffic is up. but i don't know about their use of excursions.

That's what I was guessing, that maybe there are fewer tourists and fewer yet that are willing to spend the big $ on the expensive excursions. I see a lot of posts here from people who are looking for things to do in port that don't cost so much money. Even if people can swing the cost for the trip to Alaska, I think they are trying to be as economical as possible when they get there.

 

Of course, I'm doing my part to offset all those people. Since we're taking my in-laws on this trip and it will likely be there only trip to Alaska in their life, we are going all out on excursions in every port and every stop on land. I'm just hoping they love Alask as much as DH and I do.

[Podie]

This hits home with the way I'm thinking right now. My husband, son, and I spent two weeks on the Kenai Peninsula back in 2000 so we felt we could skip the pricier land tours since we've already walked on a glacier, etc. But now that my adult daughter is getting leave from the Army to come with us, I'm wondering if we really need to do at least one pricey excursion such as the float plane to Misty Fjords.

 

So there's no easy answer, but in general I agree that doing one major trip and then sticking to more inexpensive, independent tours is the way to go. And we don't feel we NEED to be on land every minute that the ship is in port. We're looking forward to experiencing some quality, quiet time on board then, too!

[trooper 1]

(Edited) Overall the Caribbean is a cheap touring area compared to Alaska. Alaska just has some top cost tours- flightseeing, dog sledding etc. You can also have a great time for free taking advantage of walking tours and hiking. Depends what your interests and preferences are. For me, I am always on flights, and enjoy the bottom cheap cabin. For others, it's necessary they get the suite. :)

 

My personal thinking has changed somewhat. If you can easily afford those higher priced excursions - go for it. If you are doing them just because "after all, it is Alaska" - don't do it. Parts of western Montana and southern British Columbia have almost identical opportunities (e.g. walking on glaciers, seeing whales, dogsledding, etc.) and are much less expensive. As others have repeatedly mentioned, it is a matter of personal choice.

[CC Help Michell]

Seems to me that most of the interesting Alaskan tours are super expensive. There are a few that I'll still be happy to spring for, but I'm just wondering (and please don't anyone bite my head off here) if I've just got champagne taste here, or is this my imagination?

 

Are the Alaskan tours more than other (say Caribbean) tours? I guess it's the unique experience that you can/will get but seems to me that the excursions run in the hundreds of dollars per person.

 

Alaskan tours absolutely do cost more than Caribbean tours. There is less competition; their touring season is about 1/3 as long as the Caribbean (a year round destination); the local residents make a good percentage of their annual income during the warm months, and so on.

 

If all you wanted was a reality check, then I'd say yes, increase what you are seeing as "reasonable" in your head for quality excursions in Alaska (or Hawaii, or Europe, or several other destinations, for that matter). The Caribbean gives a decent baseline for cruising costs, but it is by far the cheapest place to cruise (both in cruise fares and shore excursion costs), due to competition and the presence of lots of cheap alternatives for tour providers. Think of it this way -- in the Caribbean it's easy to offer a "beach blast" on every island (quickie van ride to and from a beach) for $20 per person; or a "party catamaran" for $60 per person (a catamaran trip, maybe some snorkeling, some alcohol on a 2 hour trip). That kind of quickie, cheap excursion isn't really do-able in Alaska.

 

That said, others have pointed you to some of the cheaper Alaska options. I can't imagine why anyone would bite your head off, by the way. :) You made a true observation, but I wasn't sure if what you were seeking was simple confirmation, or advice on how to do more expensive things cheaper, or overall cheaper alternatives. Hopefully you found some guidance here on this thread.

 

Have a great trip!

[Yukon]

Are tourists tipping less or are there just fewer tourists because the economy has made Alaska too expensive for families as a vacation destination right now?

 

Tourists are tipping less - I've heard that a few times this year. The number of visitors is about the usual.

[travelbuds]

Don't miss the flounder pizza at Icy Strait Point either. LRSkier

 

Hi,

Do you recall the name of the restaurant for the pizza in ISP?

Thanks.

[Wylie Coyote]

I can understand the plight that the Alaska Service Providers are feeling. Some of our friends are in the service providing industry in different areas of the US. When speaking or visiting them, they have all complained what a bad year it has been for them money-wise. At first they blamed cheapos...then realized it was the economy driving the reduction in the amount they usually make by this time of the year. In fact, a waitress friend in my hometown of Denver was just stating that tips are off my as much as 25%....people are just not able to tip at the rate they did just last year.

 

Really SUX for Alaskan's who count of tips from cruisers...as they only have a few more weeks before it's all over until next year for them. I promise on my 8/23 cruise to tip nicely! :D

[Lois R]

Hi, in my opinion, Caribbean excursions are much less $

than those in Alaska.

 

As for what people choose to spend and cabin category they

pick, we are all indivduals and have to do what is best for us.

 

I go inside every time (including Alaska) because that

is the cabin I can afford without going into "cruise debt".

 

As for excursions, I also stay within my budget. I have never

done the planes and/or helicopter rides or the other ones

in those large $$$ ranges. I just cannot afford it.

 

This will be my 2nd time to Alaska and

I had a fabulous time on the first cruise and will have a wonderful

time on this one too:D even with the "lesser priced"

tours.

There are choices, plenty of them. Just do what is best

for you and have a great cruise:)

[KAWS]

Thanks everyone for your replies and helpful suggestions. I appreciate them all.

 

I think the key here is for me to research, research, research. I have lots of time to do that. The first thing I'll do is find the one thing that we really want to do and reserve that spot to make sure we get it. Then the rest will fall into place.

 

There was one excursion I would give my eye teeth to go on - the up-close-and-personal excursion to Tracy Arms. Unfortunately we're in Juneau from noon on and won't be able to do this one, since it starts in the morning. There's a reason for another cruise if I ever saw one!!

 

Hubby definitely wants to go on the Bearing Sea Crab Fisherman Tour and I want to go and pan for gold. But in reality, there are three ports that we will be concentrating on vs 5 or 6 that you'd get on the Caribbean, so that means we'll just look at things a little differently and go with "total budget for exursions" vs individual excursions. In the end, it won't be much different and since neither of us have been to Alaska before, I'm sure anything and everything will look incredible to us.

 

Thanks again everyone for your comments and explanations.

[mtwingcpa]

in tiny town, independant travelers and their going on excursions is way down. a kayak operator in town said he's down by almost 50%

 

If memory serves, isn't there one less "mainline" ferry per week than there was last year? Or maybe I've got my schedules totally confused! :-)

[rfbdorf]

Consider the relative costs. What did it cost to get you on the ship? What will you remember? The floatplane trip to Misty Fiords was worth as much to me as all the rest, and was the best bargain I could have found.

You can also save by booking excursions independently.

- Richard

[mom2agr8boy]

I thought they were a little on the pricey side also. I could afford them, but have decided not to. It is my first Alaska trip so I am sure I will already be on sensory overload just being there. I love taking pictures so I can do that almost anywhere in Alaska. I don't have to pay big bucks to do it. I am going to do the Chilkoot train/bus in Skagway, but everywhere else we will tour ourselves.

[labeachcomber]

I thought they were a little on the pricey side also. I could afford them, but have decided not to. It is my first Alaska trip so I am sure I will already be on sensory overload just being there. I love taking pictures so I can do that almost anywhere in Alaska. I don't have to pay big bucks to do it. I am going to do the Chilkoot train/bus in Skagway, but everywhere else we will tour ourselves.

 

Agree with the sentiment that Alaskan excursions are expensive. Heli/dog sledding or Glacier viewing at a cost of $400 or $500? I heard some families of four or five talking about how they all went. Maybe other people have $2000 to blow, but when the whole week's cruise only costs a little over $1000, I'm not going to spend that kind of money for a 3-4 hour tour. We've got the money to do it if we wanted to, but it's just not a fiscally sound choice, in our opinion.

 

Some will say that "It's Alaska - when else are you going to get to do this?" That may be true, but there's other ways to experience Alaska without spending on these pricey excursions. We took a shuttle to Mendenhall - $14 pp roundtrip. There's hikes that you can do that can get you closer views of the glacier. Not the same as actually walking on the glacier, but still worth doing.

 

We did Chilkoot Tours as well for the Skagway White Pass railroad. Nothing against Chilkoot, but we didn't enjoy this excursion at all. Nothing to really see because of the fog, and just plain boring. A 1 1/2 hour tour upwards, and then about a 40 minute bus ride back. But if you're going to do this tour, I'd suggest going through them or a private tour company. The cruise excursion loads you into this huge coach for the bus portion that can probably seat over 100 people. Our bus was small, with a maximum of probably 16 people or so. Makes the bus tour portion a little more personal.

[KW_cruiser]

Agree with the sentiment that Alaskan excursions are expensive. Heli/dog sledding or Glacier viewing at a cost of $400 or $500? I heard some families of four or five talking about how they all went. Maybe other people have $2000 to blow, but when the whole week's cruise only costs a little over $1000, I'm not going to spend that kind of money for a 3-4 hour tour. We've got the money to do it if we wanted to, but it's just not a fiscally sound choice, in our opinion.

 

Some will say that "It's Alaska - when else are you going to get to do this?" That may be true, but there's other ways to experience Alaska without spending on these pricey excursions. We took a shuttle to Mendenhall - $14 pp roundtrip. There's hikes that you can do that can get you closer views of the glacier. Not the same as actually walking on the glacier, but still worth doing.

 

We did Chilkoot Tours as well for the Skagway White Pass railroad. Nothing against Chilkoot, but we didn't enjoy this excursion at all. Nothing to really see because of the fog, and just plain boring. A 1 1/2 hour tour upwards, and then about a 40 minute bus ride back. But if you're going to do this tour, I'd suggest going through them or a private tour company. The cruise excursion loads you into this huge coach for the bus portion that can probably seat over 100 people. Our bus was small, with a maximum of probably 16 people or so. Makes the bus tour portion a little more personal.

 

We're spending more on our excursions than the trip. We have an inside cabin that is less than $700 /pp on the Celebrity Millenium, and our excursions are about $1,000 pp, total. That includes Helicopter tour of 4 glaciars + dog sled ride; kayaking in orca cove; White Pass Rail & Bus tour (with Chilkoot); Zip Line - can't wait for this one!!!

 

Maybe pricey - the trip is running us about $6K total, but hey... money is only good for what it can do for you (and others) !

[KAWS]

We did Chilkoot Tours as well for the Skagway White Pass railroad. Nothing against Chilkoot, but we didn't enjoy this excursion at all. Nothing to really see because of the fog, and just plain boring. A 1 1/2 hour tour upwards, and then about a 40 minute bus ride back. But if you're going to do this tour, I'd suggest going through them or a private tour company. The cruise excursion loads you into this huge coach for the bus portion that can probably seat over 100 people. Our bus was small, with a maximum of probably 16 people or so. Makes the bus tour portion a little more personal.

 

Now this is exactly the sort of concern I had. I don't mind paying more for an excursion if it's going to be interesting and something remarkable that we'll remember. But to spend something like $200 pp and then be bored or disappointed? Well, that's where I have a problem.

 

Whatever excursions we choose, we'll definitely do them independently, unless the only way to do them is through the cruise line. For Alaska, I've seen examples of this already. That's where these boards are going to (once again) come in very handy. I'm certainly glad to have CC in particular, and the internet as a whole as resources.

[cruise-Z]

Alaska is super-expensive.

They have from May to Sep to cash in on the tourism and they make sure they do.

To give you an idea, many of the heli and floatplane tours were cancelled in Juneau for our cruise Aug12. The weather is bad. fog and pesty rain everywhere. Besides, some cruiselines dont offer much time at these ports.

All this kicks the locals into a high priced selling frenzy.

 

Also, the towns themselves dont have much so excursions IMO are a must in Alaska.

 

The locals weren't surprised by the weather really. Many said, 'this'(fog, rain) is good weather.

I remember one saying 'we get about 13 days of sunshine', after that its liquid sunshine :)

Alaska is expensive, and I dont think that will change anytime soon.

 

PS: A cruise to Alaska is amazing, an unforgettable experience.